Love's Alchemy: Poems from the Sufi Tradition

By David Fideler

Working from the original Persian sources, translators and scholars David and Sabrineh Fideler offer faithful, elegant translations that represent the full scope of Sufi poetry. These concise, tightly focused meditations span only a few lines but reveal worlds of meaning. The poems explore many aspects of human life and the spiritual path, but they center on the liberating power of love.

• Language: English
• Publisher: New World Library
• Release date: Feb 9, 2011
• ISBN: 9781577317494

Book preview

MORE PRAISE FOR LOVE’S ALCHEMY

This is a gem of a book. David Fideler and Sabrineh Fideler have crafted an enticing introduction to some of the greatest mystical poets of Sufism. Highly recommended.

— Jay Kinney, editor of The Inner West

The elegant simplicity of the poems makes them a perfect accompaniment to a meditation practice, as well as a wonderful gift idea.

— Yogi Times

In addition to the richness of the poems themselves, the reader who may be unfamiliar with Persian poetry is given guidance in the book for understanding this type of poetry. The authors provide teaching on understanding Persian poetry in their introduction and helpful endnotes on particular poems, along with a glossary of terms specific to understanding Sufi poetry. Their translations along with the background information provide an amazing introduction for those new to Sufi poetry, and a wonderful resource for those well acquainted with such poetry.

— Sufism

The Fidelers’ translations of the poems, many of which have been brought into English for the first time, are superb and lucid throughout, bringing forth the quintessence of quatrains, ghazals, and other forms of this essential yet elusive verse.

— Rain Taxi Review of Books

A wonderful introduction.

— National Review Network

LOVE’S

ALCHEMY

LOVE’S

ALCHEMY

Poems from the

Sufi Tradition

Translated from the Persian by

DAVID AND SABRINEH FIDELER

New World Library

Novato, California

Copyright © 2006 by David and Sabrineh Fideler

All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, or other without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

Interior design by Tona Pearce Myers

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Love’s alchemy : poems from the Sufi tradition / translated by David and Sabrineh Fideler.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-57731-535-3 (hardcover : alk. paper)

ISBN 978-1-57731-890-3 (paperback : alk. paper)

1. Sufi poetry, Persian—Translations into English. I. Fideler, David

R., 1961- II. Fideler, Sabrineh, 1972-.

PK6449.E5L684 2006

891’. 551009—dc22                                                                             2005035207

First printing, December 2009

ISBN 978-I-57731-890-3

Printed in the United States on 30% postconsumer-waste recycled paper

10   9   8   7   6   5   4   3   2   1

Love existed before heaven or earth.

Love’s presence is not from our time.

—

Contents

Introduction

The Poems

Appendix 1:

Translating Persian Poetry

Appendix 2:

Stringing Pearls: The Forms of Persian Poetry

Glossary

Notes

Index of Authors

About the Translators

Introduction

That which frees you

from your tiny self

Nowhere has poetry been more prized for its spiritual and artistic value than in the classical Persian world. A devotion to poetry still permeates Persian culture today: the lyrics of traditional music are made up almost entirely of Sufi mystical poetry by such masters as R m and fi , and many contemporary Persians have memorized dozens of pages of verse by the great writers. Lines quoted from classical poets appear in ordinary conversation; even street peddlers render their sales pitches into verse. In earlier times, court poets were highly rewarded for their works, and the greatest classical poets were the Sufi mystics, whose beautiful, tranquil tombs are still traveled to by thousands each year, partly because of the spiritual blessing (baraka) a pilgrim might acquire by visiting such a holy spot.

In short, the poetry of the classical Sufi writers is very much alive, and still regarded as the highest literary art in Persian culture today. Historically, the rhythm and form of this poetry have been so closely intertwined with music, calligraphy, and even sacred architecture, that at first it is difficult for us Westerners to grasp such a beautifully integrated world—a world in which the arts are so thoroughly harmonized with one another, with daily life, and with the deepest human needs. While these arts are surely meant to inspire delight, they are not forms of entertainment. All sacred art seeks to open the soul to a direct perception of reality’s spiritual dimension.

Over the last twenty years readers in America and Europe have developed a profound thirst for the compelling work of Sufi poet Jal l al-D n R m (1207-1273), which has made R m the best-selling poet in America. Born near the town of Balkh in what is now Afghanistan, R m ’s native language was Persian. When he was around the age of ten, his family fled the Mongol invaders and ended up in Konya, Turkey, an important town on the silk route, where R m taught and where his tomb is now located. His great teaching-work, the Mathnaw , consisting of rhymed couplets, contains twenty-five thousand verses divided into six books, while his D w n (collected poems) contains some five thousand separate works—over forty thousand verses. Teaching the spiritual power of love and the

Reviews for Love's Alchemy

[nttrang · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A simply wonderful collection of poems. I would recommend this book.